Lunch break: Why fewer American workers are taking it

May 8, 2012

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Hour 2

Do you take your lunch break when you’re at work – leave your desk, walk to a restaurant or maybe brown bag it in the park? Turns out, more and more American workers are eating at their desks, plugging away on their computers while sandwich crumbs lodge in their keyboard. While the two martini lunch may be long gone, why is the lunch break disappearing too? Do breaks – whether for lunch, a coffee or a chat at the water cooler — help or hurt productivity? We’ll talk with two management experts about the effect of breaks on work and the workplace. We’ll also discuss vacations and why many Americans aren’t taking as much as they’re entitled to. Our guests are NANCY ROTHBARD, associate professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and JOHN TROUGAKOS, assistant professor of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management. We’ll also talk to PHIL LIBIN, CEO of Evernote about his company’s lunch policy.

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